Portuguese house are heavy mass in construction therefore a constant input of low grade, free solar heat will keep the interior at a constant comfortable temperature and the furniture dry. If the heating is intermittent (heating for a few hours in the morning and evening) the interior temperatures will take a few hours to heat up each time the system is turned on.

The Heat Pump will be used just to boost the interior temperature during the evening, plus we estimate that for 25% of the annual space heating period solar energy will be sufficient by itself, without using a Heat Pump.

The maximum size of the Solar collector area is based on 40% of the area of the Swimming Pool. Therefore excess heat generated by the solar collectors during the non space heating period of the year, is designed to provide a comfortable temperature inside the swimming pool.

Even if ‘NetGreen Heat’ is used to power an Adsorption chiller, to provide summer cooling inside the house, the Swimming Pool would also be heated by the heat rejection of the Chiller.

Seems illogical but this process was demonstrated as far back as 1878, when Augustin Mouchot demonstrated the production of ice blocks using a solar driven Adsorption Chiller.

As in a refrigeration circuit, the refrigerant changes its physical form from a liquid to a gas and back again. Every time the refrigerant changes back and forth in it’s physical state, the refrigerant absorbs and expels heat energy. But during the condensation stage (from gas to liquid) its temperature is reduced enough to be cold..

In this case the refrigerant is also water, therefore a non pollutant, in compared with the mass produced ozone depleting equivalent used in a traditional refrigeration system.

How Adsorption Chiller interfaces

The Adsorption Chiller has four internal compartments, two which contains silica-gel. The solar heated water is used to evaporate the refrigerant out of the porous absorbent silica-gel, at the same time it is pressurised into the top compartment. Another water circuit (condenser circuit used to heat the Swimming Pool) condensates the refrigerant (which creates the cool temperature) which is then used to saturate the Silica-Gel again……And so it goes on in an alternate semi continuous operation.

As there are not many mechanical moving components, the Chiller can last as long as thirty years, with very little maintenance required.

On the assumption that the existing distribution pipe work has been sized correctly, the radiators would be just replaced by Fan Convector units. An electrical supply would be extended from the nearest plug position.

Underfloor heating is even easier as the pipe work alteration would be just in the existing Boiler room.

In both cases the Boiler and any hot water storage cylinder would be reused in a strategy that minimises the boiler usage (therefore a backup reserve).

We see our customers as future customers for our future Eco-innovative systems that we develop. So this requires us to be in contact with our client base regularly.

Our embedded control system that we are presently developing, planned launch during Autumn 2012, will monitor the system’s set points. Any set points that are outside normal working conditions will generate an email/SMS alert.

If the system has a network connection we can remotely monitor the system, providing a support team to our clients house if required.

Further Information

If you want to make some reasearch yourselves on previous CombiSolar Installations: